When the Gods Become Bored
by Wolf General
Summary: When faced with the fact that one is losing their power, can they be content in letting it go without a fight? When given the choice between Evil and Enlightenment, what will a once World Duel Monsters Champion do?
1. Chapter 1

_When the Gods become bored, they will sometimes warp the very fabric of time and space to bring forth something worth their interest. This is the result of such things._

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When the Gods Become Bored

Conflict 1: Badass versus Whelp

Duelists: Rikuo Amero and Ichigo Pilkington

Location: Duel Academy Obelisk Blue Arena

Reason: Exhibition Match

Life Points: 4000

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"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Amidst the cheering of the crowds, Ichigo could barely hear himself. However he knew that the old jackass could hear him just fine.

From across the field Rikuo tugged on the collar of his black leather jacket and yawned. "Yeah, I suppose it has been. From what I've heard you've become stronger since our last duel, but to be honest I can't see any difference in you from before. After all, just look at you."

"Yeah, I hasn't changed all that much as of lately physically, but in my dueling skills there's been an amazing transformation." Ichigo activated his duel disk, having already shuffled his deck. He had been looking forward to this duel for a long time.

"We'll see about that." Activating his older-style duel disk, the raven-haired wolf demon cracked his knuckles a couple of times to get the blood flowing through his hands. "Who would you like to go first?"

"I don't particularly care." Ichigo watched as their life points appeared in the air above them both. "Duel!"

"Duel." Rikuo didn't sound quite as excited as Ichigo did.

Ichigo- 4000

Rikuo- 4000

"It looks like I'm going first!" Ichigo drew and looked his hand over. ("Rikuo tends to make a powerful play during his first attacking turn, so all I have to do is shut him down temporarily when he does and this duel is mine.") "I set one monster facedown and one other card behind it." A pair of cards appeared on his field. "Your turn, Rikuo."

"Very well," The wolf demon drew and then sighed at Ichigo. "You're already done, whelp. Against me you know better than to set a monster facedown and try to hide like a coward, even if it is for only a turn. From my hand I activate Nobleman of Crossout!" An armored blond-haired knight appeared on his field and leapt forward, slashing through the set monster card. Both of the pieces dissolved immediately, showing they had been removed from the game.

"So my facedown monster got blasted?" Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, I guess you can't win them all."

"You won't even be winning one." Rikuo threw a card down onto his disk and a black-armored cyborg appeared on his field. "I summon Psycho Shock Assassin in attack mode." (1200/1000)

"This is new…" Ichigo frowned at the cyborg. "What does it do?"

"It does death." Rikuo slid a card into his magic/trap zone behind it and the body of his Assassin was suddenly lit up by an aura of soft yellow light. "Twilight Sacrifice lets me discard a monster from my hand to add that monster's attack to the power of a monster on my field. My discard is Irios the Steel Monarch, with an attack of 2700!" (3900/1000) "Direct attack!"

"Reverse card open!" Ichigo's facedown card flipped up to reveal a trap with a picture of a powerful explosion out in the expanse of space. "Big Bang Appearance lets me negate your direct attack and special summon an Infinity…"

"Save your breath." Rikuo's Assassin slashed through the trap and then through Ichigo, sending the half-demon to his knees in pain. "Psycho Shock Assassin activates when you use a trap. It negates that trap once per turn, and then during this turn if it hurts you then you lose a monster from your hand."

Ichigo- 100

Rikuo- 4000

Ichigo felt the Assassin's blade fall again, but this time it cut the Infinity Chaser in his hand away instead of hitting his life points. ("No way, he stopped me from summoning Chaser that quickly?")

"I set one card facedown." A single card shimmered into existence behind the Assassin. "End turn."

"Draw!" Ichigo bit his lower lip at the sight of Premature Burial. ("I don't have the life points to use it. Therefore I've got only one choice.") "I activate Card Destruction. Both you and I discard our hands, then draw cards equal to the number we discarded!"

Rikuo inserted the single card in his hand into the graveyard and then drew a card. ("Pot of Greed...") "Thanks for the draw."

"You're welcome." Ichigo held up a magic card with a picture of an asteroid falling towards a planet. "Meteor Break Blast lets me destroy the strongest monster in play, followed by which I draw one card and I pay half my life points!" His life points fell to 50, but that didn't really matter to him. Meanwhile from the sky above a single meteor fell and crushed the Assassin instantly.

"You can't live very long against me just by clearing my monsters, whelp." Rikuo motioned to his set card, which flipped up to show a picture of a howling robotic wolf perched atop a pile of broken metal parts. "Cyberwolf Cry activates when a machine-type monster on my field is destroyed. I send both the White and Black Cyberwolves from my deck to the graveyard and in return you shuffle two monsters from your hand into your deck. If you don't have that many I instead get to discard cards from your hand until the total number of cards you've lost is two."

Ichigo gasped as the three cards in his hand appeared above him. (Infinity Traveler Lightning Soul, Research on the Pot of Greed, The Afterlife)

"I choose The Afterlife and that monster." Rikuo sneered while the monster disappeared into Ichigo's deck and he discarded the field card into his graveyard. "I know about your back-up plan. If your life points would hit zero you could use The Afterlife to set your life points back to 1000 and stop me from ending this for a turn. There's no chance I'll let you do that, whelp."

"I set one card facedown and end my turn." Ichigo knew this was the biggest gamble of all, but as it was he had little choice in the matter. ("If I don't do this then he'll crush me.")

Rikuo drew and started to reach for his Pot of Greed. ("Wait…") His hand stopped a few inches from the card. ("Why wouldn't he activate the ability of Research on the Pot of Greed to draw a card? With his life points only at 50 such a thing would be the wiser decision.") "I set one card facedown and end my turn." A single vertical card appeared on his field facedown.

"Draw!" Ichigo tried to hide his disappointment at this turn of events. ("He's seen through my plan? Not good.") "Then I guess I'll set a card facedown too. End turn." A second set card appeared on his field next to Research on the Pot of Greed.

("As I thought.") Rikuo drew and immediately knew what the deal was. ("This little whelp thinks I'm so stupid as to activate Pot of Greed just because he wants me to?") "Fool. I open the trap card Crushing Overpower, discarding one card from my hand to destroy all set cards on the field. If the number destroyed on your field is more than the number I lose then I take 300 points of damage per card destroyed. I discard the Pot of Greed you wanted me to activate so badly!"

Ichigo- 50

Rikuo- 3400

Ichigo watched both of his set cards explode with a smile on his face. "Actually Rikuo, I just needed you to send Pot of Greed to the graveyard. Even if you didn't activate it, it still did just what I wanted it to do." A trap card appeared on his field. "You triggered the effect of my Shifty Trap. When this card is destroyed while facedown by your effect I draw one card." Pulling a single card from his deck, he grinned widely. "And now it's your turn, Infinity Channeler!"

A comet of dark blue light slammed down onto Ichigo's field and formed into a slim robot covered in mirrors. (100/2000) "When this card is in my removed from the game pile and a magic card goes to the graveyard I can use its effect. During this turn by discarding a card from my hand I can special summon it and copy the effect of that magic card!" The single card he had drawn was inserted into his graveyard. "Therefore Pot of Greed activates now, letting me draw two cards!" Pulling a pair of cards from his deck, he grinned at the confused look on the wolf demon's face. "You seem a bit unsure now."

("Infinity Channeler…") Rikuo sighed. "So that was it, huh? The other effect of that annoying card effect lets you remove two cards from your graveyard while it is removed to activate a set magic card on your field. In other words you risked losing to draw an extra card…"

"Right. If you had activated Pot of Greed then Research on the Pot of Greed would have let me draw two cards instead of one." Ichigo waved the two cards in his hand back and forth teasingly. "Of course because of your actions you stopped me from getting more cards then I could have. Oh well."

"Irritating little whelp." Rikuo slid the remaining card in his hand facedown into his disk. "I set a card facedown. End turn."

"Draw!" Ichigo held up one of the other cards in his hand to show a monster with an attack and defense of zero. "By discarding Infinity Recoiler from my hand while I have no Infinity Travelers there I can search for an Infinity Traveler. My choice is Lightning Soul."

A bolt of lighting crashed down onto his field and formed into a ball of pulsing energy. (0/1500) "Lightning Soul's special ability…for every machine in your graveyard it gains 300 attack points!" (1200/1500) "Also I activate the equipment magic card Infinity Crystal Charge!" A trio of crystals appeared around the body of his Traveler. "The equipped Traveler gains 1500 attack points." (2700/1500) "Direct attack!"

"It really doesn't matter, since you lose anyway. Ring of Destruction!" Rikuo's set card flipped up and a ring of grenades appeared around the Lightning Soul's body. "The monster destroyed by this trap deals its attack in damage to both players!"

"So it does, but then again I've got this!" Ichigo held up a card with a picture of a translucent angel hovering over the shoulder of a rather unassuming man that had just avoided getting run over by a truck. "By discarding Guardian Angel from my hand I can reduce one instance of effect damage to zero!"

"Thanks, that means I take no damage either." Rikuo smirked at his opponent. "Anything else?"

"When Infinity Crystal Charge goes to the graveyard I draw one card!" Pulling a card from his deck, Ichigo nodded to Rikuo. "End turn. Notice that you've got nothing left, while I still have Infinity Channeler protecting me."

"Draw." Rikuo took one look at the card and then slid it into his graveyard. "I activate Graceful Charity." Drawing three cards, he then discarded two. "I discard Jinzo and Rare Metalmorph. I set one card facedown and end my turn."

Ichigo drew, but didn't bother announcing it. There was something about Rikuo's last play that was bothering him. ("He announced what he discarded? That isn't something Rikuo normally does unless…") Glancing at the set card, he knew what it had to be. ("Call of the Haunted, without a doubt. He intends to use it to revive Jinzo without any risk, and then the duel will definitely be in his favor.") However, he had drawn a card earlier that would stop this from happening. "I activate the continuous magic card Dark Rift. This card, when activated, forces us both to remove a card from our fields. Of course these cards can't be activated in response."

Rikuo pulled his set card out of his disk and inserted it into the back pocket of his jeans, while at the same time Ichigo removed his Infinity Channeler from the game too. "Nice play, whelp."

"I knew you had set Call of the Haunted the moment you announced that you had discarded Jinzo." Ichigo grinned smugly. "You're not all that clever after all."

Rikuo shrugged his shoulders. "And what will you do?"

"I'll set a card facedown and end my turn." A card appeared facedown on Ichigo's field next to his Dark Rift. ("The effect of Dark Rift is that when it is removed both players return their removed cards to play, so I'll keep this set card as my insurance.")

"Draw." Rikuo drew and then pulled the card that had been removed earlier out of his back pocket. "Unfortunately for you, whelp, you're extremely gullible. The card I set facedown was actually something else…" Flipping the card up so its picture could be seen, he sneered. "Treasure of the Different Dimension, when removed from the game, returns to my hand during my standby phase. After that both you and I draw two cards."

Ichigo's eyes twitched a couple of times, but he drew anyway. ("Great, so I just made an ass of myself…")

Rikuo drew a pair of cards as well. He was feeling pretty good now. "I just love exploiting the stupidity of fools with no strategy whatsoever. From my hand I set three cards facedown and activate Treasure of Slashing Life! I draw until I'm holding five cards, and in five cards I discard all cards in my hand!" Pulling five cards from his deck, he quickly removed one of his set cards and held it up for Ichigo to see. "The card I set was the magic card Roar of the Darkest God. I'm sure you know what that does, but I'll tell the audience."

He pulled four of the cards in his hand free, revealing four traps. "This card activates when I draw multiple cards, and every time I draw a trap card that card is discarded immediately and it gains a counter." He slid the four traps into his graveyard, drew four more cards, showed them all to be traps, and then discarded them into his graveyard. "Eight counters now, and I draw four more, since the effect of Treasure of Slashing Life says I draw until I'm holding five. Therefore until I've got five non-traps in my hand I'll keep drawing and discarding."

He showed the next two cards to be traps, and then after discarding them drew four more cards. This time they were monsters and magic cards only. "Ten counters in one shot…definitely impressive. Therefore you get to experience what I had intended for you a bit earlier than expected, whelp!"

His Roar of the Darkest God exploded, taking his field with it. "When this card reaches eight or more counters it destroys itself and removes my field. After that, guess who comes out?" He placed the two set cards into his back pocket and held up a card from his hand. "Fenrir-Destroyer of Gods is special summoned!" A howl shook the stadium and the audience went silent while above him a titanic wolf with black flames for fur appeared in play. (4000/4000)

"That can't be all." Ichigo knew that the power of Roar of the Darkest God had more to it than just bringing out Fenrir easily.

"Keh, you're right of course." Fenrir started to salivate, the lines of drool coming from its muzzle hitting the floor around Rikuo and burning straight through the steel. "This card allows one other bonus, and that is with it I can special summon a pair of friends along with Fenrir. My Demi-God Cards, Hell Fang and Heaven Claw are special summoned from my deck or hand to the field!"

A pair of black bullets came flying down from the sky and crashed into the ground, forming into a pair of half-sized Fenrir-like creatures. One had a crescent moon etched into its fur, and the other had golden streaks going through its flaming body. (2550/2300) (2100/2600)

"Demi-God Cards?" Ichigo blinked at the two monsters. "What do they do?"

"Hell Fang, when it attacks, prevents the activation of trap cards and also does damage through defense. And while Heaven Claw is on the field in defense mode my beast-type monsters cannot be affected by the opponent's magic cards." Rikuo placed a monster facedown on his disk and then pointed at Ichigo. "I set a monster and attack directly! Black Inferno's Roar!"

Ichigo motioned to his set card, which flipped up to reveal a magic card with a picture of a dark blue hole in space. "Infinity Space-Time Warp allows me to change the phase by either pushing us forward by one or pushing us back by one!"

"Your card is a normal magic card, punk!" Rikuo tsked and shook a finger at the boy. "So foolish!"

"Have you forgotten Infinity Channeler so quickly?" Ichigo grinned while the field seemed to skip forward, having skipped Fenrir and company's attacks. "Sorry Rikuo, but this duel isn't over yet!"

"So it isn't…" The wolf demon shrugged his shoulders and slid a card into his disk. "I'll place a card facedown and end my turn."

"I'm confident to say that card is a bluff!" Ichigo drew and then snapped up a monster card that had a picture of a pod which had a mecha inside it. "Infinity Recovery Pod lets me discard it from my hand to add one Infinity named machine from my graveyard to my hand! My choice is Infinity Chaser!" Picking up his key monster card, he proceeded to hold up a magic card with a picture of a crystal which had the silhouette of Infinity Chaser within it. "Infinity Pulse lets me special summon an Infinity monster from my hand to the field, but at the end phase of the turn it returns to my deck! Come out now, Chaser!"

A comet of dark blue light fell from the sky and crashed down into play, forming into the dark blue mecha which represented the key to Ichigo's whole strategy. "I activate the effect of Chaser, returning a magic card that is face-up in play to my hand to gain 300 life points!" Dark Rift disappeared and his Infinity Channeler appeared in play once more while his life points shot up to 350.

"So you gained a few life points, so what?" Rikuo sighed and shook his head. "Nothing you've got will beat the power of Fenrir and his children."

"So says you, the guy about to lose his superior stance in this duel!" Ichigo held up magic card with a picture of Chaser standing atop a cliff while behind it was the bright glow of the sun. "Infinity Grace lets me special summon an Infinity Traveler from my graveyard to my field! Lightning Soul comes out and immediately Contact Fuses with Chaser as per the effect of Infinity Grace!"

"Contact Fusion?" Rikuo snorted derisively. "What exactly is that going to accomplish?"

"More than you'd think!" A bolt of lightning exploded out of Ichigo's graveyard slot and into the sky, as did Chaser. The two disappeared from sight and a new monster dropped down into play. It looked like Chaser, except that it had lightning bolts painted all over its body and one of its arms was a cannon. "Static Chaser is special summoned!" (2000/1000)

"What's a little static cling going to do besides annoy me, eh?" Rikuo snarled at the new fusion.

Now it was Ichigo's turn to smile. "The power of Static Chaser is a bit of a kick in the face for you, machine duelist. For every machine monster in your graveyard and on your field this monster gains 500 attack points, and combining that with the fact that his other effect forces your set monsters to be face-up and I bet you'll be a bit angry!"

Rikuo gasped while his set monster was revealed to be a red mechanical dragon. (1500/1600) "My Y-Dragon Head!"

"Plus the five in your graveyard equals 3000 attack power plus!" Ichigo's Static Chaser started to glow brightly with built-up energy. (5000/1000) "Static Chaser, attack Hell Fang now! Lightning Crusher!" His monster snapped its cannon up and fired a piercing beam of blue energy straight at the wolf monster.

"Oh no you don't!" Rikuo motioned to Heaven Claw, which suddenly was in place of its brother. "When you attack I can redirect it to Heaven Claw!" The beam pierced his monster and shattered it violently.

("I thought I had him too…") Ichigo wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead. "Sorry to tell you this Rikuo, but the effect of my Chaser fusions doesn't send them back to my deck like it would with Neos fusions. In other words, you're the one with the weakest monsters in play now. End turn."

The wolf demon snorted derisively and drew. "So what? Fenrir isn't so easily defeated! During my standby phase the effect of Treasure of the Different Dimension adds it to my hand and we both draw two cards." Placing the card back into his hand, he pulled two more cards free and sneered at what they were. "A nice back-up plan, but it doesn't matter. Have you already forgotten exactly what Hell's Fang does to defense mode monsters? If you have then let me remind you! Hell Roar!" The remaining child of Fenrir charged towards the Infinity Channeler with its jaws bared.

Ichigo paled at the charging monster, already knowing that had been coming. ("I thought I was done for, but…") Then he snapped up one of the card's drawn by Treasure of the Different Dimension. "I activate the effect of Hope Born of Despair! By destroying a monster on my field I can gain 1000 life points!" His Channeler exploded, and his life points jumped. "Of course this card doesn't leave my hand by doing so."

Ichigo- 1350

Rikuo- 3400

Rikuo growled and snapped his fingers, Hell's Fang skidding to a halt and padding back to his field. "Keh, escaped did you? That's a matter of opinion, really. I'll switch Fenrir to defense mode, and place two cards facedown. End turn." His mighty black-furred god collapsed on its rump, while two flashes of light appeared behind its giant body.

"Draw!" Ichigo looked at the drawn card nervously. It was sinking in just how desperate this duel had become for him. ("I'm staring down the man that controls the creature which can destroy gods. No…he is the creature that can destroy gods!")

Static Chaser's body released a few crackling charges of energy, a deep hum coming from it.

And it was that hum which reassured Ichigo. ("That's right. I'm no god, and if I'm not a god then what can a big overgrown ball of fur do to me!?") "I activate the magic card Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and then discarding two." He inserted Dark Rift and Hope Born of Despair into his graveyard, since their usefulness was done. "Static Chaser, attack Hell's Fang now! Lightning Crusher!" His fusion leapt through the air and brought down a roaring crash of electrical power onto the beast-type monster, blowing it apart.

Ichigo- 1350

Rikuo- 950

"Alright!" Ichigo pumped his fist into the air excitedly. "I got rid of the other one! Now all that's left…is…" His eyes widened in fear as he realized that the air around them was starting to turn the color of night. "A darkness game!?"

"Not quite, whelp." Rikuo motioned to Fenrir, which was now snarling angrily. "I open my trap card, Release of Fenrir. This card can only be activated when my life points are 1000 or less. When this card is activated all cards on my field are destroyed, Fenrir included." His God Card roared and all of the cards on his field exploded. "For every card destroyed the opponent suffers 200 points of damage."

Ichigo couldn't hear this over the sound of his own pained screams, body lit aflame in a black blaze.

Ichigo- 350

Rikuo- 950

Then the pain disappeared as the fire was pulled off of him, and pulled itself over to Rikuo's field. "From my deck or hand the Avatar of the Destroyer is special summoned." The flames pulled themselves around Rikuo's body, burning away his jacket and leaving him bare-chested. Black runes blazed into existence across his chest, arms, and face. His hair lengthened, the raven strands nearly reaching the ground. And when his eyes opened they revealed the living flame burning within them. Baring a single almost sabertooth fang, he smirked at Ichigo. (5000/5000) "I'm going to crush that insult to machines you have on your field, and with it your pride, whelp. You should learn that by now…I am a god. What exactly are you?"

Ichigo felt like he was only a few inches tall, even though their height difference was close to negligible. It was the aura though, a blazing black aura of fire that swelled up dozens of feet into the air around Rikuo's body. ("I'm facing a god.") He'd beaten Fenrir before, but the real question was...could he defeat the man that was dangerous enough to control Fenrir?

"Regardless, the turn is still yours. Hurry and cower in fear in the face of Fenrir's power." Rikuo's voice was deep and all-consuming, a representation of the fire it housed.

"I set three cards facedown!" A trio of cards appeared behind Ichigo's fusion. "End turn."

"At the end phase of a player's turn, the effect of Avatar of the Destroyer triggers. One random card on your field is destroyed, and the top five cards of your graveyard are removed from the game." The inferno around Rikuo burned brighter (relatively speaking, considering the nature of the dark flames) and Ichigo's center set card burned away, its smoke mixing with the smoke coming from his graveyard slot. "And before I forget to mention, while Avatar of the Destroyer is in play everything that goes to the graveyard is actually removed from play."

Rikuo drew from his dwindling deck, and the inferno around him increased in size. "During each standby phase Avatar's attack power increases by 500 points." (5500/5000) "And now for my attack…Aura of Black Inferno." The hellish flames around him blazed once more, and Static Chaser started to sizzle.

"Reverse card open!" One of Ichigo's set cards flipped up. "Spirits of Shadowed Friendship activates when a Final Shadow on my field is attacked! I'm allowed to send up to Five Final Shadows from my deck to the graveyard, and for each one that goes there I buffer 500 points of damage that would be dealt through the attacked monster! My choice is five!" He held up five monster cards. "The four Final Shadow Gods and Chaser!"

"And they get…" Rikuo narrowed his eyes as the creeping tendrils of black flame were suddenly dissipated by a flash of bright light. "Hm?"

"I open my other facedown card, Lightforce Negation! I can use this counter trap to negate one effect!" Ichigo smiled and slid the five monster cards into his graveyard. "Sorry, I'm putting monsters in my graveyard regardless of what you say!"

"If that's your resolve then let me respond to it with my answer as to why you're a dumbass." Rikuo slid a card into his disk and the flames which engulfed and destroyed Static Chaser immediately enwrapped Ichigo's deck. "I discard one card from my hand to activate the quickplay magic card Morphing Blast. Instead of dealing you damage, I'll just convert what damage you would have taken into cards leaving your deck, one for each 200 points, rounded up."

Ichigo paled as three cards were burned off of his deck. "That's fine…it doesn't end this duel!"

"Have you forgotten what I was holding so quickly?" A card appeared facedown behind the wolf demon. "I set a card facedown, a sacrifice to the Avatar's effect since otherwise it would have to be destroyed." His newly set card shuddered and burst into smoke, as did the top five cards of his graveyard. "End turn."

"Draw!" Ichigo spared a glance at the new card and then placed it onto his disk. "I summon Infinity Slot Machine!" The monster which appeared on his field was a light and dark blue futuristic version of a slot machine. (0/0) "When this monster is summoned I shuffle my graveyard, and then afterwards we both look at the top card. Depending on its effect we'll get something different!" The revealed card was his Research on the Pot of Greed. "If it's a magic card I draw one card. Then I set two cards facedown and end my turn." A pair of cards appeared on his field behind his slot machine, followed by which his slot machine shuddered and melted along with the top five cards of his graveyard.

"Draw! At this time the effect of Treasure of the Different Dimension activates!" Rikuo added the removed card to his hand and drew two more, while the aura around him stretched towards the ceiling. "Musn't forget your standby phase either." (6500/5000) "And now, whelp, this duel ends. Like any God Card, Avatar is immune to traps and granted limited immunity to magic effects. This is the end."

Ichigo felt the air around him pulsing, and he watched that hellish aura slowly bear down on him almost as if it was in slow motion. ("I'll die if that hits me head-on.") "Reverse card open!"

"Useless." Rikuo casually tossed a card from his hand through the air, watching it turn into a black comet which engulfed and burned the emerging trap. "By discarding a card from my hand I can negate a trap once per turn. Sorry whelp, but you're a dead man." The inferno dropped down onto Ichigo, lighting him aflame. "Now burn in the fires which even hell cannot contain."

"I'd love to." Ichigo gritted his teeth, the black flames around him licking at his skin. "But a guy can get lit on fire only so many times before it just gets redundant! Black Inferno's Roar!"

Rikuo's eyes widened as the black flames of his avatar's aura were pulled into a spiral that hurled them up at the ceiling, where they hit the stone and steel harmlessly. "What in the nine layers of hell?"

Ichigo had changed, a flowing black trenchcoat around his chest and his hair black, long and flowing like Rikuo's was currently. His eyes opened calmly and he lifted the silver blade of the katana which had appeared in his free hand up, before stabbing it down into the dueling arena to brace it. "You aren't the only one with a bit of the Destroyer in them, you grungy old wolf bastard."

"Keh, so you've got a few interesting tricks left to show me?" Rikuo noted that Ichigo's life points hadn't changed either. "And what's the deal with your life points not changing?"

"Another trap, Reflex Defense." Ichigo shuffled his deck a couple of times and placed it back into its slot. His strange costume and hairdo disappeared in a burst of black fire, along with his katana. "I shuffle two cards back into my deck and during this turn all card effects and damage against me is pointless."

"Another annoying whelp defense." The wolf demon slid a card into his disk and then held up a magic card. "I set a card facedown and play Draw Dummy, drawing the top card of my deck and replacing it with this face-up card." He did so, smirking. "While its face-up on my deck I skip my draw phase, so I won't be decking out anytime soon. End turn." His set card and the top five cards of his deck disappeared in a flash of black flame.

Ichigo looked up at the roaring flame around the body of Rikuo, and yet this time he didn't feel fear. ("I can hear them, the souls of the Travelers.") At first he had thought about staying in the form called Phantom of Twilight for the rest of the duel, but then he realized this wasn't his fight alone. "I'll show you, the biggest ego of them all, that the power you think is weak and pointless can actually fell even your precious destroyer."

Then he drew, and smiled at what it was. (Avatar of the Destroyer: 7000/5000) "I activate the magic card Ever Shadow of the Cyber Infinite Galaxy, or ESCIG for short. I select Infinity Travelers, Final Shadows, Cyber Shadows, or Ever Shadows. Then I shuffle five of those monsters from my graveyard back into my deck to get a different result. I declare Final Shadows!" Five cards slid out of his graveyard, revealing the four Final Shadow Gods and Chaser.

Rikuo crossed his arms across his chest, a cold snarl on his features. ("He intends to end this duel now? Hmmm, let's see him try.")

Finishing with the shuffling of his deck, Ichigo grasped the top three cards. "I'm sure you know what the Elemental Hero card Hope of Fifth does, right? Same deal. Shuffle five back in, draw two or three depending on if you have cards or not!" The three that left his deck brought a confident smile to his face. "This is it! I activate the magic card Limit Overdrive! During this turn my life point costs become zero, but at the end of this turn I lose 3000 life points!"

"And then I play the magic card Infinity Avatar! At the cost of 2000 life points I special summon Chaser from any location!" A blast of dark blue light erupted from his deck and formed into the super-powered mecha of his choice. (2000/1000) "And then I activate the magic card Infinity Doubles! At the cost of 1000 life points I special summon a pair of Travelers from my deck!" Two more comets of light shot out of his deck, the two of them becoming a pair of silver-bodied metallic humanoids. "I special summon Forward Runner and Reverse Runner!"

"A pair of draw and graveyard revival abilities?" Rikuo already knew what was coming, and yet at the same time had no idea what the end result would be. "Triple Contact Fusion…"

"You've got that right!" Ichigo's three monsters launched into the air, and the dark flames which lingered around them suddenly disappeared as everything started to twist and turn, both air and ground mixing together into a swirling vortex of energy. "Come out now, Chrono Chaser!" A metallic roar came from all around them and then a completely silver, almost liquid-bodied version of Chaser stepped through thin air onto Ichigo's field. (2800/2000)

"Chrono Chaser…a time controlling monster?" Rikuo already had an idea where this was going. And he already knew it was going to be annoying.

"Chrono Chaser's ability allows me to, once per turn, send a card from my deck to the graveyard to remove a monster from your field for one turn! Time Disruption!" Ichigo grinned while the flames around Rikuo disappeared abruptly. "This is it! The end of the game! Chrono Chaser, attack with Future Fist!" His monster shimmered and disappeared once more into thin air, appearing behind the defenseless Rikuo moments later.

"I'm not going out like this." The wolf demon's ears flicked a couple of times and he turned to look the super-mecha right in the eyes. "Badass Stop!" His fist came up and punched Chrono Chaser in the side of its metallic skull, sending it rocketing through the distortion around them before it exploded right before it reached the stands.

Ichigo, as well as the rest of the audience, stood in jaw-dropped silence while the half demon's life points ticked down to zero. "Wha…"

Cracking his neck a couple of times, Rikuo walked over to the side of the arena and picked up his spare shirt and jacket, putting them on without paying them any mind. "I activated the magic card Badass Stop from my hand, discarding one additional card from my hand to negate your direct attack and deal you 1000 life points of damage."

Ichigo collapsed to his knees, just like the audience in that he was unable to reply. Finally he managed to pull his jaw up into place, only to stammer a couple of times while Rikuo turned and walked off with his hands in his pockets. "Remember that in real life being a badass always beats that stupid friendship crap, whelp." Rikuo glanced over his shoulder, slipping on a pair of gold-tinted sunglasses. "You might have won had you stuck with that katana form. Maybe…"

_End_


	2. Enlightened Awakening

There isn't much to say about this story, except it's something I came up with awhile ago and just recently finished writing it. Hope you enjoy it.

When the Gods Become Bored

Conflict 2: Enlightened Awakening

Duelists: Daniel Pilkington and Unknown

Location: Unknown

Reason: Unknown

Life Points: 4000 

He was standing alone in the darkness, looking at his reflection in a black-surfaced mirror that had a particularly healthy luster to it. His hand reached out and touched the surface, staring at it in confusion. Why was he here? What was he doing?

The face of his expression twisted into a cold smile. "Why so surprised? I'm sure that of all people, you should be used to strange things happening to you."

"Regardless," he replied, "There is still, usually, a rhyme or reason to the occurrences. So tell me who you are."

"Me?" The reflection was suddenly not a reflection anymore, instead it was alive and standing before him; they could have been twins, except that the reflection was wearing a black overcoat. "My name should be obvious to you. It's Daniel Pilkington."

"That's impossible." The original Daniel, standing out because of the silver/black silk pajamas he was wearing, didn't look amused by this doppelganger's antics. "I'm Daniel Pilkington. When I told you to tell me who you were, I meant that I wanted your real name."

"Daniel Pilkington." The reflection lifted his right arm and activated the Duel Disk that had appeared there.

"Fine, I'll defeat you where you can't possibly copy me and then you'll cough up your real name." Daniel wasn't surprised by the appearance of a Duel Disk that was suddenly on his right arm. Activating it, he drew his opening hand of five cards. "Let's do this."

Daniel- 4000

Daniel- 4000

Looking his starting hand over, Daniel grimaced at how weak it was. He wouldn't be able to start very strongly unless… "Draw." No, this card would only mean he could summon a monster this turn. "I summon Elemental Hero Featherman in defense mode." A hero dressed in a green-feathered suit appeared on his field in a crouching position. (1000/1000) "I set one card facedown and end my turn." A card shimmered into existence onto his field behind his monster.

The reflection glanced at his hand and then drew. "I activate the magic card Monster Mirror." A magic card with a picture of a man's own reflection sneering at him appeared on the field. "You now select one monster on your field. If there is a copy of that monster in my deck then I special summon it to my field. If not, then you draw one card."

Daniel didn't like where this was going. "My only choice is obvious."

The reflection nodded, a card appearing on his disk while an exact replica of Featherman appeared on his field. (1000/1000) "I suppose that move didn't surprise you, but let me add in this!" A blast of lightning erupted from his field and formed into a blue-yellow armored hero. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman!" (1600/1400) "Sparkman, attack Featherman! Spark Flash!" His newly summoned monster brought its right palm to bear down at Daniel, releasing a blast of electricity that hurtled towards the opposing Featherman.

"Reverse card open!" Daniel's set card flipped up and a glowing blue barrier appeared in front of his monster, absorbing and dispersing the attack. "If there is an Elemental Hero on my field I can negate the next attack you'd throw at me."

The reflection slid a card into his disk, and a facedown card shimmered into existence behind his two monsters. "I set a card and end my turn."

Daniel knew that his Hero Barrier was only a temporary defense, and that if his next draw wasn't something useful then the cards in his hand were only going to add to an ever-expanding defense he was going to have to put up. And if there was one thing he wasn't going to tolerate, it was being put on the defensive by some impersonator. "Draw!"

He smiled at the drawn card. "If you think you can just slap some Elemental Heroes into your deck and that makes you my equal, then you're severely underestimating me. I activate Emergency Call, adding one Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand." He held up a card, his own Sparkman.

The reflection chuckled softly and shook his head. "You do understand the irony of you calling me a copycat and then summoning the same monster that I do, correct?"

"Don't be so quick to assume what I'm doing." Daniel held up a card from his hand, its picture that of a clockwork demon perched atop a tower. "Spring-Loaded Majin's effect activates now. By discarding this card from my hand, I add one Polymerization from my deck to my hand." He fanned out his deck and held up one of his deck's key magic cards.

"So you intend to fusion summon?" The reflection looked a bit more serious now.

Daniel nodded and held up the card he had searched for. "I activate Polymerization, discarding Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman from my hand to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" An explosion of lightning came raining down on his field and formed into a towering yellow-armored titan. (2400/1500) "Thunder Giant attacks Sparkman! Voltaic Thunder!" His new monster lifted one hand and released a blast of lightning that hit the reflection's Sparkman, blowing it to pieces.

Daniel- 4000

Daniel- 3200

The reflection looked at the Thunder Giant with disdain. "Such an outdated model of heroics shouldn't be standing before me. Disappear!" Daniel's Thunder Giant shuddered and howled in pain as it was sucked into the ground violently. "I activate my facedown Michizure trap card. When a monster on my field is sent to the graveyard, another monster in play is destroyed."

"That doesn't stop my next move though! Let's have a little mirror match, shall we?" Daniel snapped his fingers and his Featherman charged towards the reflection's Featherman. "Featherman attacks Featherman, Feather Break!" The two heroes collided and exploded. "At this time the effect of my Spring-loaded Majin activates now! When this card is in my graveyard and a monster on my field is destroyed, I may remove it from the game to activate a trap card in my hand! My card is Hero Signal!"

The card he revealed from his hand shot a beam of light into the air that formed into a giant H above them. "When a monster on my field is destroyed as a result of battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a level four or lower Elemental Hero from my deck or hand to the field! Come out now, Elemental Hero Bubbleman!" A blue-armored smiling hero appeared in play. (800/1200) "When Bubbleman is summoned and I have no other cards in play I can draw two cards!" Adding two cards to his hand, he pointed at the reflection. "Direct attack!" The superhero leapt into the air and fired a blast of water from the cannon on his arm, striking the dark-coated reflection and throwing him onto his back.

Daniel- 4000

Daniel- 2400

"I set one card facedown and end my turn." A card shimmered into existence onto his field, and Daniel smiled calmly at the truth that was being shown through this duel. No one could copy his dueling style and expect to beat him.

The reflection stood up and brushed himself off, sighing in disappointment. "I thought I could keep this charade up longer before I'd need to get serious. Oh well, it didn't look like you believed the whole 'I am you' shtick anyway." He ran a hand through his hair, and it darkened to a deep crimson-red. "The truth of the matter is that I am you, the duelist side of you."

"The duelist side of me…" Daniel scoffed at the notion. He was his own duelist self.

"Don't give me that look, you loser." The reflection's eyes shimmered from brown to blood-red. "You know that, as a half-demon, your demon side is the one that is born to duel. Dueling is in my blood, not yours. And that's why I'm here this evening, because I'm going to purge you."

"Purge me?" Daniel still wasn't sure whether this guy was telling the truth or not, but the idea of him getting "purged" didn't sit well, since he didn't even know what that meant. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm going to get rid of you, because thanks to your pathetic human emotions your skill has decreased over the years!" The reflection put his hand on top of his deck. "You put all your efforts and hopes into your son, and neglect your own demonic heritage in the process. Well that will end soon. Draw!" He pulled the top card free of his deck and sneered, baring his fangs. "The mirror match's last play, I summon Bubbleman!" A darker-armored version of Daniel's hero appeared on the field. (800/1200) "The same effect activates, so I draw two cards!"

Daniel frowned at the second Bubbleman. Now that he understood the nature of this enemy, he knew this duel wasn't going to be easy. If this guy really was his demon side, then it would take all his tactics to win. "Bubbleman doesn't have that many good fusions, so let's see what you intend to throw out at me."

"Didn't I just say that was the last play of a mirror match?" The reflection held up a magic card. "I activate Dark Factory of Mass Production, adding two normal monsters in my graveyard to my hand. My returning cards are Featherman and Sparkman." The two named cards slid out of his disk's graveyard, and he added them to his hand. "Then I activate Dark Fusion!"

"Dark Fusion?" Daniel's eyes widened at the sight of a magic card he'd never heard of before. "What does it do?"

"It lets me send fusion material monsters from my field and hand to the graveyard to summon a fiend type fusion monster. I discard Sparkman and Featherman, fusing them with the Bubbleman on my field!" The three named heroes all appeared, and then disappeared within a dark blue vortex of energy. "Come forth, Evil Hero Hell Maelstrom!" A demonic winged humanoid that had aspects of all three heroes appeared from out of that vortex, chuckling darkly. (2800/2800) "Hell Maelstrom attacks Bubbleman, Chaos Maelstrom!" The monster lifted one arm up, the cannon attached to it started to glow with building dark energy. "Disappear, you weak relic!"

The released blast was so powerful and huge that Daniel barely managed to activate his set card before it collided with his field. "I reveal Bubble Illusion! If Bubbleman is in play I can activate a trap card from my hand! I activate Bubble Disruption!" A cloud of tiny bubbles appeared in the path of the incoming pillar of energy, causing it to explode before it could hit his monster. "Bubble Disruption ends the battle phase when activated, and if activated from my hand allows me to draw two cards."

The reflection slid two cards into his disk. "I place two cards facedown. Now then, show me that you haven't forgotten what it means to be a duelist."

"I've had just about of your arrogance! Draw!" Daniel glanced at his drawn card and then held up a magic card. "Fusion Recovery allows me to add one Polymerization and one fusion material monster in my graveyard to my hand. I select Clayman." He immediately held up both returned cards. "I fuse Bubbleman with Clayman, summoning Elemental Hero Mudballman!" A round-armored and heavy-looking superhero appeared on his field in a crouching position. (1900/3000) "Then I set three cards facedown and end my turn."

"Your counterattack is to defend?" The reflection glowered at Daniel. "Against the power of a demon, defense is nothing more than a prolonged surrender! Draw!" He motioned to one of his set cards. "At this time the effect of Hell Maelstrom activates. Go Destroyer Mode!" The set card shattered, and the particles it became formed into a red aura that surrounded the dark superhero. "By sending one card on my field to the graveyard and reducing the attack of my monster by 800, it undergoes a mighty transformation. Whenever Hell Maelstrom attacks an opponent's monster, he destroys it without damage calculation." (2000/2800)

Daniel could deal with that. Now that it only had 2000 attack points, Hell Maelstrom wasn't as much of an issue.

"You're looking a little too relaxed, considering what I sent to the graveyard." The reflection held up a trap card with a picture of a blood-red hurricane destroying a town. "Hell Storm, when sent to the graveyard from my field, deals my opponent 1000 points of damage. If sent to the graveyard by the effect of Hell Maelstrom, then it instead deals 2500 points of damage!"

Daniel only heard half of that, because he was suddenly screaming as a wind of negative energy engulfed him. It didn't just hurt in the usual way though, it felt like every life point he lost meant that more of his grasp on his consciousness faded. When it finally ended, he dropped to his knees and gasped desperately for air.

Daniel- 1500

Dark Daniel- 2400

The reflection pointed at the Mudballman. "Hell Maelstrom, kill it." His dark hero started to charge up its cannon again. When it fired the blast was so overwhelmingly powerful that there weren't even particles remaining of Daniel's monster.

"Reverse card…" Daniel started hacking again, but he'd said enough to trigger his facedown card.

The reflection frowned at the sight of the revealed trap. "Fusion Splinter lets you special summon a fusion material of the destroyed monster from your graveyard and draw one card, huh?"

Still looking terribly weakened, Daniel shakily motioned to another card on his field that flipped up. When it did, his Fusion Splinter trap and the other set card on his field both disappeared in bursts of white light that seemed to revitalize him enough that he could speak normally. "I chain Emergency Provisions, sending my two cards in play to the graveyard to gain 2000 life points."

Daniel- 3500

Dark Daniel- 2400

Daniel wasn't just irritated, now he was pissed at this guy. Standing up straight, he angrily lifted his disk as rays of light started to come out of the graveyard slot. "Revive now, Bubbleman!" The blue-armored superhero appeared on his field in a crouching position. (800/1200) "Since my field is clear, I draw two cards!" He pulled two cards free and then held up the used-up Fusion Splinter. "And by Fusion Splinter, I draw once more." He added another card to his hand. "And for the finisher, the set card I sent to the graveyard with the effect of Emergency Provisions was Repayment of Losses, which lets me draw one card when it goes to the graveyard." He drew again.

The reflection growled and slid a card into his disk. "I place a card facedown. Now then, how about you do something other than draw cards and defend?"

"That sounds fine with me! Draw!" Daniel held up a magic card with a picture of an already smoldering tree on top of a hill about to get hit by lightning again. "Flash Replay, at the cost of 1500 life points, lets me add one quickplay magic card from my graveyard to my hand." He held up Bubble Illusion, which started to glow. "I'll activate this again since Bubbleman, and use the Honorable Discharge trap card in my hand."

The reflection's face twisted in disgust again. "Even more draw power?"

"That's right." Daniel pointed at Bubbleman, who shimmered slightly and disappeared. "By sending one warrior type monster on my field to the graveyard, the effect of Honorable Discharge lets me draw two cards!" Pulling a pair of cards from his deck, he held up a magic card that caused a swirling vortex of light to appear over the field. "I activate Miracle Fusion, removing fusion material monsters from my graveyard and field to summon an Elemental Hero fusion monster! My choices are the same three you used to summon that monstrosity!" He pointed at Hell Maelstrom, and a non-evil version of it appeared on his field. "Elemental Hero Tempest is my choice!" (2800/2800)

The reflection smiled and shook his head. "He won't match up against his advanced self."

"We'll see about that! Tempest, attack Hell Maelstrom with Chaos Tempest!" Daniel's monster lifted its own arm cannon, which started to charge with energy.

"Reverse card open!" The reflection's set card flipped up to reveal a picture of a royal-looking demon surrounded by outlines of being that were being bombarded by blood-red lightning. "Hell Impulse activates when you attack a fiend on my field. That fiend is destroyed, and all monsters in play that have original attack equal to or less than its own original attack are destroyed!" The trap released a blast of red lightning that hit Tempest; who responded by bellowing in pain and exploding.

"Now who's playing defensive?" Daniel slapped a card onto his disk, a female red-clothed superhero appearing on his field in a crouching position. "I summon Burst Lady in defense mode." (1200/800) A pair of set cards shimmered into play on his field behind his monster. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

The reflection drew. "Let me ask you something before we continue. Do you regret the path your life has taken, to one of living an existence chained down by your son, by your wife, and by the fact that you are a 'World Duel Monsters Champion?' Don't those endless special appearances all over the world ever wear on your patience?"

"When you put it like that…" Daniel grimaced and shook his head out to clear it. He didn't have full life points back, so he was still a little tired. "Hurry up with your turn!"

"That's fine; I just wanted to make sure you were thinking about it." The reflection slapped a card onto his disk and a spindly demon appeared on his field. "I special summon Evil Hero Hell Brat!" (300/600) "When I have no monsters on my field, this card can be special summoned! Then I sacrifice this monster to summon Evil Hero Malicious Edge." The spindly demon was replaced by a spiked demon hero, who appeared in play with an evil smile on its face. (2600/1800) "Malicious Edge can be summoned for one sacrifice when you have a monster in play. And when he attacks a defense mode monster and his attack is higher, the difference is dealt to you in battle damage!"

"A single sacrifice 2600 piercing monster!?" Daniel was forced to take a step back as a black aura erupted from around his reflection and Malicious Edge, the dark air nearly choking to him.

"This is the power of demonkind! Needle Burst!" The reflection and Malicious Edge sneered together, the latter leaping into the air and releasing a spray of needles that rained down onto Daniel's hero monster.

"Reverse card open!" One of Daniel's set cards flipped up and the needle rain stopped in mid-flight, each of the deadly metal points falling into the ether and dissolving. "Negate Attack stops your monster's attack and ends the battle phase."

"End turn." The reflection grabbed the top card of his deck and drew it. "At the end phase of a turn in which Hell Brat has been sacrificed to summon a monster with Hero in its name, I draw one card."

"Draw!" Daniel felt the pressure around him rising, and he knew that if he didn't do something to stop the attack of that Malicious Edge next turn then it was going to destroy him. "I activate the magic card Treasures of Virtue. When there is an Elemental Hero on my field, I draw two cards and then shuffle one back into my deck." He added one card to his deck and shuffled it, followed by which he held up another magic card. "Then I set two cards facedown and switch Burst Lady to attack mode." The female hero stood up, valiantly facing off against the far more powerful Evil Hero. "End turn."

"Draw!" The reflection glanced at his drawn card and then placed it onto his disk, a grey-scaled demon hero appearing on his field. "I summon Evil Hero Hell Gainer in attack mode!" (1600/0) "Also I play the magic card R-Rigorous Destruction. Depending on the number of Evil Heroes on my field, this card's effect changes: with one, I can destroy a set magic or trap card in play, and with two or more I can destroy two cards in play!" He pointed at two of Daniel's set cards, which shuddered and started to crack.

"Reverse card open!" One of those two cards flipped up, revealing a trap with a picture of Bubbleman with a silhouette of Sparkman over it. "Hero Ambush activates now! By discarding an Elemental Hero from my hand, I can increase the attack power of one Elemental Hero on my field by the discarded hero's attack! I discard the 1600 attack Necro Darkman to power up Burst Lady!" His female hero started to glow brightly with a black-red energy as she absorbed the power of the hero he discarded. (2800/800)

"I told you before, didn't I?" The reflection growled and pointed at Hell Gainer, whose body faded away. "That defense before the power of a demon is nothing but a prolonged surrender! By removing Hell Gainer from the game, one fiend type monster on my field can, during this turn, attack twice! Needle Burst!" His Malicious Edge leapt into the air and unleashed another spray of needles at the female hero.

"You're going to let your Malicious Edge kill itself?" Daniel shrugged calmly. "Go right ahead and attack then."

"Thank you for the invitation." The reflection's set card flipped up and the black-red aura around Burst Lady grew thinner. "I activate Power Absorber. The increased attack of one monster on your field is reduced by 800, and I draw one card." He pulled a card from his deck and sneered as Burst Lady's power dropped. (2000/800)

Daniel wanted to curse out loud, but he knew that now wasn't the time to panic. He pointed at his set card and it flipped up. "I activate Hero Guard, removing Elemental Hero Tempest from my graveyard as its cost. When one monster on my field battles with an opponent's monster and would be destroyed, the destruction is negated and the damage I would receive is halved." The spray of needles hit his monster, but only half of them got past to shoot through Daniel's body. "Afterwards, I draw one card."

Daniel- 1200

Dark Daniel- 2400

"You do remember that Malicious Edge can attack twice, don't you?" The reflection snapped his fingers and another storm of needles came falling down around the female hero, destroying her.

Daniel- 400

Dark Daniel -2400

The reflection glanced at his hand card and then slid it into his disk. "I set one card facedown. End turn."

Daniel understood how dangerous this situation was. He no longer doubted that this opponent was his demon side, because the sheer power because his dueling style was nothing but a more aggressive version of how Daniel dueled. This didn't sit well with him, because it meant he was going to have to duel as fiercely as possible to win. "It looks like, against you, I'm going to have to let my own demonic power flow. So if that was your aim, then you win in that regard." He reached into himself, expecting that ever-full well of dark power to be there. However, he felt nothing but emptiness.

"By the surprised look on your face I can assume that you just realized it, huh?" The dark aura around the reflection flared even stronger. "I am that power you intent to summon, and therefore you're left with nothing but your weak human skills."

Daniel bit his lower lip and drew, trying not to ponder how he was going to win without his trump card. Glancing at the drawn card, he knew that at least his deck hadn't given up yet. "When Necro Darkman is in the graveyard, I can normal summon an Elemental Hero in my hand without sacrifice. Therefore I summon Elemental Hero Edgeman!" A gold-armored superhero appeared on his field and bellowed, the jets on its back flaring up momentarily at the sight of Malicious Edge. (2600/1800) "Battle! Power Edge Attack!"

The reflection smiled as the two equally-powered heroes slammed into each other and exploded. "You really are trying your hardest not to crumble, but that won't change the fact that you cannot win this battle!"

"From my hand I activate Emergency Hero!" Daniel held up the card he had drawn earlier from Hero Guard's effect. "When a Hero named monster on my field is destroyed is destroyed as a result of battle I can activate this quickplay magic card. I look at the top five cards of my deck, and then select and special summon one Hero named monster that is revealed." He pulled five cards off his deck and fanned them out, quickly making his choice. "I summon Hero Kids!" A little hero appeared on his field in a crouching position. (300/500) "When Hero Kids is special summoned, I special summon as many copies of it from my deck as possible!" Two more Hero Kids appeared on his field in crouching positions. (300/500)x2 "End turn."

"Draw!" The reflection frowned at his drawn card and rolled his shoulders. "I end my turn."

"Draw!" Daniel inserted the drawn card into his disk and nodded, more to himself than his opponent. With this drawn card he had a chance. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

"Draw!" The reflection pointed at his field. "Two turns after its effect is activated, Hell Gainer returns." The demonic hero returned to play. (1600/0) "And then I summon Evil Hero Devil Linebacker in attack mode!" A block-bodied demon hero appeared alongside Hell Gainer. (1200/2000) "When Devil Linebacker destroys an opponent's monster as a result of battle and there is still a monster on their field, he may attack again consecutively. Death Tackle!" The new hero roared and rushed across the field, preparing to bounce one of the Hero Kids off his shoulder.

"Reverse card open!" Daniel's set card flipped up and all of his monsters suddenly looked much weaker. "Alchemy Cycle reduces the attack power of all monsters on my field to zero. During this turn, if any of the monsters weakened by this card are destroyed as a result of battle and sent to the graveyard, then I draw one card." Then he braced himself as the Devil Linebacker smashed into his first Hero Kids.

"I don't particularly care what cards you draw! Go Death Tackle!" The reflection's Linebacker returned to his field and charged again, smashing another Hero Kids. "Hell Gainer attacks now, Hell Melee!" The other Evil Hero leapt across the field and slashed the Hero Kids apart with his claws.

"By the effect of Alchemy Cycle I draw!" Daniel drew three cards from his deck.

"And by the effect of my card your draw power is useless!" The reflection held up a magic card. "The magic card Hand Borrow can only be activated if I have no other cards in hand and during this turn you've drawn cards outside of the draw phase. You shuffle your hand back into your deck and I draw cards equal to the number returned."

Daniel paled at the fact that his counterattack had been stopped before it had even begun, but he complied. Shuffling the cards back into his deck, he wondered if this was the end for him.

The reflection drew three cards and his smile widened. "Oh, this is too perfect. I'll shut down your outdated heroes once and for all. From my hand I activate the continuous magic card Anti-Monster Policy. When this card is activated I declare two words. Any monster with those two words in its title cannot be summoned. Therefore I declare Elemental Hero and leave it at that." He held up the other two cards he had drawn and shuffled them back into his deck. "By the effect of Hand Borrow, I have to shuffle my hand back into my deck at the end phase of the turn. Unfortunately, the downside of the card activates during your turn. You draw cards from your deck equal to the number you lost, as well as one additional card per card I have played after using Hand Borrow's effect. End turn."

Daniel wanted to feel overjoyed at the fact he would have five cards in hand at the start of next turn, but the fact that his ability to summon Elemental Heroes was sealed meant that next turn he would lose. There was no comeback in his future unless he could destroy Anti-Monster Policy. "It's my turn, draw!" He drew five cards from his deck, and felt like he'd just been stabbed in the heart by what he saw amongst those cards. Not a single one of them would be useful in this situation. He couldn't even set up a defense.

"It looks like you've reached the end of your rope, eh?" The reflection let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, I was wondering how long you intended to drag on this meaningless fight."

"Meaningless?" Daniel couldn't understand how a duel to determine who would control his body had been meaningless.

"We're not enemies, stupid." The reflection rolled its eyes, the aura around it fading slightly. "You and I are the same person, just merely light and darkness. I'm more surprised you fought me so hard. It's not like I intend to take over your body and kill your son or anything, I just intend to bring back the strength you once had as a duelist. Why would you fight against someone whose intention was only to make you stronger?"

Daniel admitted that he couldn't find a reason to argue against that. He knew that, over the years, his dueling skills were becoming more and more outdated. And despite the fact that he was placing all of his hopes on his son's shoulders, he distinctly felt it every day as his power dropped. It hurt his pride and, more importantly, made him wonder whether he could protect his son when the time came. In his lifetime he had made more than his fair share of enemies, and to lose the power to fight those enemies meant that he would lose the power to live.

"It looks like you're starting to understand." The reflection suddenly grimaced and looked upwards into the void, his eyes narrowed. "That damn kid is trying to wake you up…let's get this over with before he becomes suspicious."

"That…damn kid?" Daniel's face, which had started to soften, suddenly contorted in anger. "That damn kid, huh?" He narrowed his eyes and felt a sudden flare of energy within himself. "Now I remember why I didn't mind losing my power over time for the sake of my family. It's because, regardless of how it's used, the power of a demon is a power that leaves the user arrogant and gives them an overblown supply of their own superiority, which eventually winds up being their downfall."

The reflection's jaw straightened and he let out a low growl. "You think I'm arrogant, huh? Let's not forget who I'm part of, shall we?"

"I don't claim to be beyond human or demon, no." Daniel felt that stirring power growing, and with it he felt his deck begging for his attention. The situation no longer felt hopeless. "I am mortal, and that is why I won't lose to you. You are the petty side of myself, a self I don't want to let rule my life. I've seen you take down too many people in the past not to see my own defeat in you. Therefore I will fight, not for my own sake, but the sake of my family!"

"Then lose because of that weak family!" The reflection held up his right hand and tapped his chin, jutting it out mockingly. "Come on then, hit me with everything you've got. If you think you can, that is."

"If that's your wish, then let me be the one to grant it!" Daniel's deck started to glow with a bright gold light. "The effect of Angel Shuffler activates now! By discarding one card from my hand I can remove this card from my deck and from the game, and then shuffle my hand back into my deck and draw cards equal to the number returned." He shuffled his hand back into his deck, while his brown hair started to take on a lighter tone. "This is the power of my hope, of the hope I place in the future I've chosen!"

"Then show me that hope, and let's see whether it can fight against threats like myself or not!" The reflection looked angry now, as if this sudden surge of power that wasn't caused by him was an insult to his pride. "Can you really say that without your own heritage you can protect your family!?"

"Race isn't the only facet of heritage! I'm not only half-demon, but also the son of a man who is a legendary duelist of the most divine society in the world." He deck was giving off a powerful golden glow now, and his hair started to turn white while his eyes turned golden. "If you are the side of me that wields evil as a weapon, then I will fight you with the power my human side represents…" He drew, and the darkness around them started to churn and break, light coming in through it. "…enlightenment!"

Daniel glanced down at his drawn cards and held one of them up. "I activate Lucky Three, returning three removed from the game monsters back into my graveyard. These monsters must share at least two words in their title, however." He held up Featherman, Bubbleman, and Sparkman. "Elemental Heroes cannot be summoned, but they can still be moved." He put the three in the graveyard and then held up a new magic card. "Hope of Fifth shuffles five Elemental Heroes in my graveyard back into my deck, afterwards I draw two cards. I return Burst Lady, Clayman, Bubbleman, Sparkman, and Featherman!" The five named heroes slid out of his graveyard and he shuffled them into his deck, drawing two cards afterwards.

"Is that the nature of your enlightenment, drawing more cards?" The reflection looked even angrier.

"No, it is the power of change!" An aura of golden energy came to life around Daniel's body, and the card he held up caused it to become even more powerful. "Go Bright Fusion!"

"Bright Fusion!?" The reflection's eyes widened in surprise and his anger was blown away by the blinding vortex that appeared over the field.

"I combine Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman together using the power of light!" The two named heroes appeared in the air above Daniel, and then were sucked into the vortex. What emerged was a towering titan made of gold and whiter materials, its body humming with power. "Come forth, Enlightened Hero Divine Titan!" (2400/1500)

The reflection took a step back involuntarily, unable to contain his surprise and confusion. "This is impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible when it comes to miracles!" Daniel pointed at Hell Gainer. "Divine Titan, Holy Return Wave!" The new light hero lifted up a hand and released a torrent of light from its palm, hitting the Evil Hero and causing it to disappear. "Once per turn, Divine Titan can send one monster in play back to its owner's hand, giving me the returned monster's original attack in life points."

Daniel- 2000

Dark Daniel- 2400

"Divine Titan, attack Devil Linebacker! Divine Buster!" The hero's palm released another blast, this one a pounding storm of light arrows that pierced the Evil Hero and caused it to explode.

Daniel- 2000

Dark Daniel- 2400

The reflection let out a sigh of relief. "When Devil Linebacker is attacked he switches to defense mode, so your damage to me is zero!"

"Maybe, but I've still got one other trick up my sleeve." Daniel held up the remaining card in his hand and the sky tore open, revealing a sky filled with golden clouds. "Miracle Summon activates when I have no other cards in my hand. I look at the top card of my deck, and if it's a level four or lower Angel-type monster I special summon it!" He brought two fingers to rest on the top card of his deck and pulled the card free, holding it up for his opponent to see. "Enlightened Hero Holy Roller is summoned!"

A golden orb fell from the sky and crashed into the ground, revealing that it was actually a round-bodied hero. (2300/500) "Holy Roller, direct attack! Holy Rollout!" The hero's limbs pulled into the cracks of his armor and he started to roll in place rapidly, rocketing forward and slamming into the reflection hard enough to send him flying backwards through the air by about twenty feet.

Daniel- 2000

Dark Daniel- 100

The reflection slowly stumbled to his feet, his entire body trembling in pain. No words came out of his mouth, just a low and frustrated growl.

Daniel motioned to Holy Roller, which returned to his field and went to a crouching position. "After combat is conducted Holy Roller goes to defense mode. Now then, let's see if you can match the power of the hope I've invested in my future. End turn."

_To be continued…_


End file.
